Visualizing user interfaces

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for visualizing user interfaces. In one aspect, a method includes presenting a user interface visualization for an application. The application is configured to perform functions and present a graphical user interface including user interface elements to access the functions. Presenting the user interface visualization for the application includes selecting a group of related functions and presenting a graphical representation for each related function. The graphical representations for the related functions are presented in proximity to each other, and the graphical representations are presented differently than the user interface elements for the related functions are presented by the graphical user interface of the application.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Patent Application No. 61/379,219, entitled “VISUALIZING USERINTERFACES,” filed Sep. 1, 2010, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates to visualizing user interfaces presented bycomputers.

Computer software applications can expose an overwhelming amount offunctionality to its users. With so many functions, the majority of auser interface (UI) can be hidden in the default view to maximize screenreal estate for a working document. Graphical user interfaces serve astools for access to various functions of the application, e.g., byprovided mechanisms for user to navigate through various ribbons, dialogboxes, tabs, and menu systems. Although a graphical user interface canprovide a logical structure for interaction, users can have troublelocating desired functions, and some functions can be hidden away innested UI elements.

SUMMARY

A system of one or more computers provides user interfacevisualizations. A UI visualization is an alternative representation of aUI for improving a user's experience in using an application. A UIvisualization illustrates functions of an application by displayinggraphical representations of the functions, and the UI visualizationdisplays those graphical representations differently than the UIdisplays the user interface elements. For example, functions can beillustrated by icons displayed in a grid or overlaying a map.

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in methods that include the actions ofpresenting a user interface visualization for an application, whereinthe application is configured to perform a plurality of functions, andwherein the application is configured to present a graphical userinterface including a plurality of user interface elements to access thefunctions, and wherein presenting the user interface visualization forthe application comprises: selecting a group of related functions; andpresenting a graphical representation for each related function, whereinthe graphical representations for the related functions are presented inproximity to each other, and wherein the graphical representations arepresented differently than the user interface elements for the relatedfunctions are presented by the graphical user interface of theapplication. Other embodiments of this aspect include correspondingsystems, apparatus, and computer programs, configured to perform theactions of the methods, encoded on computer storage devices. A system ofone or more computers can be configured to perform particular actions byvirtue of having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of theminstalled on the system that in operation causes or cause the system toperform the actions. One or more computer programs can be configured toperform particular actions by virtue of including instructions that,when executed by data processing apparatus, cause the apparatus toperform the actions.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. Presenting a graphical representation for eachrelated function comprises presenting the graphical representations in agrid view layout including rows and columns of graphicalrepresentations. Presenting a graphical representation for each relatedfunction comprises: displaying a map including a plurality of regions;presenting the graphical representations for the related functions overone of the regions of the map; and presenting additional graphicalrepresentations for a different group of related functions of theapplication over a different region of the map. Presenting a graphicalrepresentation for each related function comprises sorting the relatedfunctions by usage data for each function and presenting the graphicalrepresentations in an order based on the sorting. Presenting a graphicalrepresentation for each related function comprises, for each relatedfunction, identifying associated data for the function and presentingthe graphical representation for the function based on the associateddata. Presenting the graphical representation for the function based onthe associated data includes presenting the graphical representationwith a size, level of granularity, level of highlighting, or level ofopacity based on the associated data. The associated data is usage dataor data indicating a release version. Selecting the group of relatedfunctions includes selecting functions that are related by one or moreof: a usage category, a functional category, corresponding userinterface elements' locations in the graphical user interface, and howdeeply nested the functions are in a hierarchy of the graphical userinterface. The actions can further comprise: receiving input selecting agraphical representation; and providing textual information associatedwith the function corresponding to the graphical representation. Thegraphical user interface for the application includes space for viewinga document, and wherein the user interface visualization lacks space forviewing a document.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented so as to realize one or more of thefollowing advantages. Users can explore features of an application usinga UI visualization. Users can locate specific features using the UIvisualization. Users can gain understanding of feature relations, e.g.,functions that accomplish similar goals, or functions that are oftenused together. Users can discover new features, which can be helpful totransitioning users to expert users. Users can better understand theirown usage of an application and how their usage might relate to otherusers. A UI visualization can serve as a platform for communicationbetween users. Similar visualizations of two or more applications can beused to compare the relative functionality of each application, e.g., sothat users can more easily transition from one application to another.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates two displays for a computer system that executes asoftware application.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example TreeMap style layout of a UIvisualization.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example node-and-stick style layout of a UIvisualization.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example map view layout of a UIvisualization.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example grid view layout of a UI visualization.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example tooltip that appears over an icon for afunction in a UI visualization.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example control panel that can optionally be usedto control a UI visualization.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an example UI visualization overlaid withusage data.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example process for presenting a userinterface visualization.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates two displays for a computer system that executes asoftware application. A first display 102 displays a user interface (UI)for the application. The second display 104 displays a UI visualizationfor the UI for the application.

The application can be, for example, a Computer Aided Design (CAD)application, a word processor, a multimedia editing tool, or the like.The application performs various functions, e.g., related to CAD, wordprocessor, or multimedia editing. The UI displayed on the first display102 includes various UI elements, e.g., icons, toolbars, menus, menuitems, dialog boxes, tool parameters, and so on. A user can use the UIelements to cause the application to perform its functions. Typically, aUI includes space for editing or viewing a document. To increase theamount of space available for viewing a document, the UI elements can benested so that many of them are out of sight. Moreover, the UI elementscan be placed in areas that are convenient for a user who is editing adocument, rather than in areas that are useful to a user who is learninghow to use the application.

The UI visualization on the second display 104 presents graphicalrepresentations that illustrate functions of the application. Thegraphical representations can take various forms and can be, e.g., UIelements, representative icons, or textual descriptions. For example,the graphical representation of a function can be an icon of a UIelement for accessing that function from the UI for the application. Ifa function of the application does not have a UI element for accessingthe function, the UI visualization can include a default or placeholdericon as the graphical representation of a function. For example, the UIvisualization can include graphical representations of functionsaccessed by hotkey accelerators, which is useful, for example, becauseusers are often unaware of those functions.

The UI visualization can present graphical representations of functionsat different levels of granularity. For example, a coarse grainvisualization can present dialog boxes or menus, and a detailedvisualization can present individual elements within a dialog box, orindividual menu items. The UI visualization can also present graphicalrepresentations of different sizes and colors to convey additionalinformation. The size or color of a graphical representation can be usedto represent any quantitative data associated with the function, e.g.,its frequency of use or number of child functions.

The layout of the graphical representations of functions is different inthe UI visualization than the layout of UI elements in the UI. The UIvisualization need not display any particular document for viewing andediting. The UI visualization can display more graphical representationsof functions than UI elements displayed in the UI, and the UIvisualization can display those UI elements in way to assist users inlearning to use the application.

There are various ways that the graphical representations of functionscan be laid out in the UI visualization. For example, the functions canbe clustered by usage or functional category. Functional and usagecategories can be determined, for example, manually by a user inspectingthe application, or automatically by a UI visualization program thatanalyzes the application, e.g., by parsing the application source codefor indicators of functional or usage categories.

In another example, the UI visualization layout can be based on the UIelements locations in the UI for the application, or how deeply the UIelements are nested in the UI access hierarchy. The UI access hierarchyspecifies what UI elements provide access to other UI elements, e.g., sothat a dialog box accessed by a menu item is nested under the menu item.In another example, the layout can arrange graphical representations ina table, indexing the functions by name or some other ordered feature.The layout can include real-world landmarks (e.g., countries on ageographic map), which is useful, for example, to help users form acognitive model of the user interface.

In general, the UI visualization is interactive, although a static UIvisualization is possible. The UI visualization can provide varioustypes of interactions, e.g., navigation, annotations, filtering,sorting, and grouping. For example, some UI visualizations can allow auser to pan and zoom using an input device, e.g., a mouse. The UIvisualization can serve as a learning tool by linking graphicalrepresentations of functions to help articles or tutorials. The UIvisualization can display tooltips that indicate, e.g., a name of afunction when a cursor is over a graphical representation for thefunction. The UI visualization can have some parts that are interactive(e.g., certain regions or certain graphical representations) and otherparts that are not. For example, the interactive parts can behighlighted.

The UI visualization can execute independently of the application. Forexample, the UI visualization can be a standalone application that doesnot depend on the underlying application on which the UI visualizationis built. The UI visualization can also be configured to execute andcommunicate in real-time with the application itself. For example, asshown in FIG. 1, the UI for the application can be on the first display102 and the UI visualization can be on the second display 104. This isuseful, for example, so that the UI visualization can display the user'scurrent usage patterns, and highlight functions that were used mostrecently. This is also useful, for another example, so that the user cantrigger the application to execute a function from within the UIvisualization (e.g., by double clicking a graphical representation.)

Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example system setup with two displays,various other setups are possible. For example, the system can include asingle monitor, e.g., that displays both the application's UI and the UIvisualization, or just the UI visualization. The UI visualization can beprinted out. Interactive visualization can occur on a secondary device,e.g., a tablet or a mobile phone.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example TreeMap style layout 202 of a UIvisualization. The layout 202 is divided into six rectangular areas.Each area depicts graphical representations of functions that are in asame functional category. The relative size of each region can representthe corresponding proportion of functionality contained with theapplication. In addition, the size of each graphical representation canbe based on usage data for the graphical representation's function,e.g., the frequency of use of that function.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example node-and-stick style layout 302 of a UIvisualization. The UI visualization is for an application havingpull-down menus. The graphical representations of functions are arrangedaccording to the pull-down menus from which the functions are accessed.For example, pull-down menus are shown in the center of the layout 302,and arrows from items in the menus extend to dialog boxes around thecenter of the layout 302 that are displayed in response to selecting theitems.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example map view layout 402 of a UIvisualization. In the map view layout 402, icons (e.g., 404 and 406)representing functions are overlaid on a map of the world. The functionsare grouped into functional categories, and each functional category isarranged over a specific region or country. The region for eachfunctional category can be specified, for example, heuristically, basedon group size and relatedness. The region for each functional categorycan also be specified according to size, popularity, or other usagemetrics. Although an image of map is shown, other types of backgroundimages can be used, e.g., an architectural 2D floor plan or biologicalrepresentation, e.g., a human body. Additionally, 3D spaces can be used.For purposes of clarity, the icons in FIGS. 4A and 4B do not coverentire regions; however, in a UI visualization, the icons can coverentire regions.

FIG. 4A illustrates lines (e.g., 412) that point to likely next usedcommands. The lines originate from an icon 408 of a function in the“Draw” category, arranged over the United States 410 on the map. Thelines end on icons of functions likely to be used after that function. AUI visualization system can determine a next likely used function fromusage data. FIG. 4B illustrates lines (e.g., 414) that show a user'srecent command history. The lines span across various functionsgraphically represented in the “3D,” “Draw,” and “UCS” categories.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example grid view layout 502 of a UIvisualization. The grid view layout 502 includes icons (e.g., 504, 506,and 508) arranged in a rectangular grid. The grid view layout 502 isuseful, for example, for sorting icons into arrangements that are notbased on functional categories.

The graphical representations displayed in a UI visualization can besorted according to various criteria. The icons in the grid view layout502 can be sorted and arranged in the grid, and the icons in the mapview layout 402 can be sorted within each region (for each functionalcategory). The icons can be arranged in the grid view layout 502 invarious ways. The icons can also be highlighted (e.g., based on usageinformation) to provide additional information to users.

For example, the icons can be sorted alphabetically according to namesof functions represented by the icons. In another example, the icons canbe sorted according to community popularity. Community popularity is anexample of usage data that indicates how frequently a function is usedby users in a community of users of the application. The icons can besorted from top-to-bottom, left-to-right in order of popularity.

The UI visualization can provide the ability to visualize functions byone data set and sort by another. This is useful, for example, to assistin understanding relationships between data sets. For example, icons canbe highlighted by release version and sorted by community popularity. Inanother example, the icons can be sorted by community popularity andhighlighted by a particular user's frequency of use (e.g., where adarker highlight indicates more frequent use and a lighter highlightindicates less frequent use.) That arrangement can be useful, forexample, to show a user what popular functions he is not using.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example tooltip 602 that appears over an icon 604for a function in a UI visualization. The tooltip 602 can appear, forexample, in response to a user selecting the icon 604 (e.g., byclicking, double clicking, or even just moving the cursor over theicon.) The tooltip 602 displays various information about the function,e.g., the name of the function, a description of the function, usagedata regarding the function, and so on.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example control panel 702 that can optionally beused to control a UI visualization. The control panel 702 can be used,for example, to set and adjust display styles, control visual overlays,sort icons, search for individual functions, and adjust the transparencyof a background image (e.g., a map.)

The control panel 702 can include a checkbox 704 to control thevisibility of “flight paths” that are lines between recently usedcommands (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6B.) The flight paths can bebased on a real-time command history collected by the application. Theflight paths can be useful, for example, to allow quick recognition ofareas of the map view that a user has already used, thus helping theuser identify functions or entire categories of functions that they donot use. In some implementations, to avoid clutter, flight paths fadeover time, e.g., so that only a certain number of curves are evervisible at a time. Additional controls can include, for example, acheckbox 706 to show or hide a background image (e.g., a map), acheckbox 708 to control the visibility of category labels, and a slider710 that can adjust the transparency of a background image.

The control panel can include a search box. The search box can be usedto find functions within the UI visualization. For example, as a userenters each character into the text box, the UI visualization can searchfor functions that have the current substring in either an associatedname or tooltip text. The UI visualization can fade out icons that donot have an associated name or tooltip text including the currentsubstring. Clicking a “search” button can cause the UI visualization tosearch for an exact function name match. If the command is found, theicon can be highlighted, and the view can be zoomed in to view thaticon.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an example UI visualization overlaid withusage data. In this example, the usage data indicates the popularity offunctions, e.g., among users in a community of users of the applicationas indicated by the use of the functions. FIG. 8A shows an examplelegend that indicates the current visualization and the range in values.The data value is mapped to the opacity of the color of the icon. Darkericons indicate highly used functions, and lighter icons indicate lessfrequently used functions. FIG. 8B shows an example map view layouthaving icons that are highlighted according to popularity.

Various types of data can be overlaid on a UI visualization. Functionusage histories can be gathered from, for example, programs that trackusers' usage of an application. The users can be divided into groups,e.g., new users, typical users, expert users (e.g., professionals whouse the application to make money), and so on. Consider four exampletypes of usage data:

-   -   Community usage: The overall frequency, relative to all other        functions, in which a function is used. For example, a “delete”        function can make up 17% of the entire user community's function        usage. A function's community usage frequency is an indication        of the relative importance of a function.    -   Community popularity: The fraction of users who have used a        function. For example, 95% of users in the community can have        used an “erase” function. This is an alternative indication of a        function's relative importance.    -   Expert usage: The frequency for which a function is used by        expert users. This is useful, for example, so that user can see        what functions expert users are using.    -   My usage: The frequency that a particular user uses a function.        This is useful, for example, so that a user can see and reflect        upon his own usage of the application.

A UI visualization can also overlay or highlight the difference betweendifferent types of data. For example, the community usage can becompared to the experts' usage. This is useful, for example, todetermine what functions experts use more often than the community, andwhat functions the community uses more often than experts.

A UI visualization can also overlay or highlight using data other thanusage data. For example, icons can be displayed with different colorsthat represent different release versions of the application. This isuseful, for example, to help a user identify functions that wererecently released but that the user has not yet adopted.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example process 900 for presenting a userinterface visualization. The user interface visualization is for anapplication configured to perform various functions, e.g., a CADapplication. The application is configured to present a graphical userinterface including user interface elements to access the functions.

The process 900 can be performed by a system of one or more computers.For purposes of illustration, the process 900 will be described withrespect to a system that performs the process 900.

The system selects a group of related functions (step 902). For example,the system can select functions that are related by one or more of: ausage category, a functional category, corresponding user interfaceelements' locations in the graphical user interface, and how deeplynested the functions are in a hierarchy of the graphical user interface.The system determines that functions are related, for example, byanalyzing a file prepared by a user who has categorized the functions,or by analyzing source code for the application and grouping functionsthat have similar attributes.

In some implementations, the application generates usage logs, and theapplication developer can collect usage logs from users in thecommunity. The system can analyze the collected usage logs and compare,for a given function, the overall frequency of the function and one ormore functions that are used after the function (the “next” function).The system can then determine groups of related functions as functionsthat follow one another, e.g., more frequently than randomly.

The system optionally sorts the related functions, e.g., by usage dataassociated with each function (step 904). For example, the system cansort the related functions by community popularity, as discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 5.

The system optionally identifies associated data for each function foruse in varying presented graphical representations for the functions(step 906). For example, the associated data can be usage data or dataindicating a release version. FIGS. 8A and 8B show examples ofpresenting user interface visualizations overlaid with usage data.

The system presents a graphical representation (e.g., an icon) for eachrelated function (step 908). The system presents the graphicalrepresentations for the related functions in proximity to each other.The system present the graphical representations differently than theuser interface elements for the related functions are presented by thegraphical user interface of the application.

For example, the system can present the graphical representations in agrid view layout including rows and columns of graphicalrepresentations, e.g., as described above with reference to FIG. 5. Inanother example, the system can display a map including regions andpresent the graphical representations over one of the regions of themap, e.g., as described above with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. Thesystem can present additional graphical representations for a differentgroup of related functions of the application over a different region ofthe map.

If the system performs optional step 904 and sorts the functions, thesystem presents the graphical representations in an order based on thesorting. For example, the system can present the graphicalrepresentations in an order as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

If the system performs optional step 906 and identifies associated datafor each function, then the system presents the graphical representationof each function based on the associated data. For example, the systemcan present a graphical representation with a size, level ofgranularity, level of highlight, or level of opacity based on theassociated data. For example, the system can present the graphicalrepresentations as described above with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by one or more computers, themethod comprising: presenting a user interface visualization for anapplication, wherein the application is configured to perform aplurality of functions, and wherein the application is configured topresent a graphical user interface including a plurality of userinterface elements to access the functions, and wherein presenting theuser interface visualization for the application comprises: selecting agroup of related functions; and presenting a respective graphicalrepresentation for each related function, wherein the graphicalrepresentations are presented in proximity to each other, and whereinthe graphical representations are presented differently than the userinterface elements, and wherein the user interface visualizationexecutes independently of the application on which the user interfacevisualization is built, and wherein the graphical user interface for theapplication is presented on a first display and the user interfacevisualization for the application is presented on a second display, thefirst display and the second display are on first and second physicallyseparate monitors of a computer system, respectively, wherein thegraphical user interface for the application includes space for viewinga document and the user interface visualization lacks space for viewinga document, and wherein the user interface visualization presented onthe second display executes and communicates in real-time with theapplication presented on the first display, and wherein the userinterface visualization visually presents, for a particular function, adifference between community usage data and expert usage data on thesecond display, and  wherein the community usage data indicates anoverall frequency for which the particular function, relative to otherfunctions, is used by a community of users of the application, and wherein the expert usage data indicates a frequency for which theparticular function is used by expert users.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein presenting a respective graphical representation for eachrelated function comprises presenting the graphical representations in agrid view layout including rows and columns of graphicalrepresentations.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting arespective graphical representation for each related function comprises:displaying a map including a plurality of regions; presenting thegraphical representations for the related functions over one of theregions of the map; and presenting additional graphical representationsfor a different group of related functions of the application over adifferent region of the map.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinpresenting a respective graphical representation for each relatedfunction comprises sorting the related functions by usage data for eachfunction and presenting the graphical representations in an order basedon the sorting.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting arespective graphical representation for each related function comprises,for each related function, identifying associated data for the functionand presenting the respective graphical representation for the functionbased on the associated data.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinpresenting the respective graphical representation for the functionbased on the associated data includes presenting the respectivegraphical representation with a size, level of granularity, level ofhighlighting, or level of opacity based on the associated data.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein presenting a respective graphicalrepresentation for each related function comprises, for each relatedfunction, identifying associated data for the function and presentingthe respective graphical representation for the function based on theassociated data, wherein the associated data is usage data including oneor more of community usage data, community popularity data, expert usagedata, and my usage data.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting thegroup of related functions includes selecting functions that are relatedby one or more of: a usage category, a functional category,corresponding user interface elements' locations in the graphical userinterface, and how deeply nested the functions are in a hierarchy of thegraphical user interface, and wherein determining that the functions arerelated includes analyzing a file prepared by a user who has categorizedthe functions or analyzing source code for the application and groupingfunctions that have similar attributes.
 9. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving input selecting a graphicalrepresentation; and providing textual information associated with thefunction corresponding to the graphical representation.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user interface visualization visually presents,for a second function, a plurality of types of usage data on the seconddisplay, and wherein the plurality of types of usage data comprise:community usage data that indicates an overall frequency in which thesecond function, relative to other functions, is used by a community ofusers of the application, community popularity data that indicates afraction of users in the community who have used the second function,expert usage data that indicates a frequency for which the secondfunction is used by expert users, and my usage data that indicates afrequency that a particular user uses the second function.
 11. A systemof one or more computers configured to perform operations comprising:presenting a user interface visualization for an application, whereinthe application is configured to perform a plurality of functions, andwherein the application is configured to present a graphical userinterface including a plurality of user interface elements to access thefunctions, and wherein presenting the user interface visualization forthe application comprises: selecting a group of related functions; andpresenting a respective graphical representation for each relatedfunction, wherein the graphical representations are presented inproximity to each other, and wherein the graphical representations arepresented differently than the user interface elements, and wherein theuser interface visualization executes independently of the applicationon which the user interface visualization is built, and wherein thegraphical user interface for the application is presented on a firstdisplay and the user interface visualization for the application ispresented on a second display, the first display and the second displayare on first and second physically separate monitors of a computersystem, respectively, wherein the graphical user interface for theapplication includes space for viewing a document and the user interfacevisualization lacks space for viewing a document, and wherein the userinterface visualization presented on the second display executes andcommunicates in real-time with the application presented on the firstdisplay, and wherein the user interface visualization visually presents,for a particular function, a difference between community usage data andexpert usage data on the second display, and  wherein the communityusage data indicates an overall frequency for which the particularfunction, relative to other functions, is used by a community of usersof the application, and  wherein the expert usage data indicates afrequency for which the particular function is used by expert users. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein presenting a respective graphicalrepresentation for each related function comprises presenting thegraphical representations in a grid view layout including rows andcolumns of graphical representations.
 13. The system of claim 11,wherein presenting a respective graphical representation for eachrelated function comprises: displaying a map including a plurality ofregions; presenting the graphical representations for the relatedfunctions over one of the regions of the map; and presenting additionalgraphical representations for a different group of related functions ofthe application over a different region of the map.
 14. The system ofclaim 11, wherein presenting a respective graphical representation foreach related function comprises sorting the related functions by usagedata for each function and presenting the graphical representations inan order based on the sorting.
 15. The system of claim 11, whereinpresenting a respective graphical representation for each relatedfunction comprises, for each related function, identifying associateddata for the function and presenting the respective graphicalrepresentation for the function based on the associated data.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein presenting the respective graphicalrepresentation for the function based on the associated data includespresenting the respective graphical representation with a size, level ofgranularity, level of highlighting, or level of opacity based on theassociated data.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein presenting arespective graphical representation for each related function comprises,for each related function, identifying associated data for the functionand presenting the respective graphical representation for the functionbased on the associated data, wherein the associated data is usage dataincluding one or more of community usage data, community popularitydata, expert usage data, and my usage data.
 18. The system of claim 11,wherein selecting the group of related functions includes selectingfunctions that are related by one or more of: a usage category, afunctional category, corresponding user interface elements' locations inthe graphical user interface, and how deeply nested the functions are ina hierarchy of the graphical user interface, and wherein determiningthat the functions are related includes analyzing a file prepared by auser who has categorized the functions or analyzing source code for theapplication and grouping functions that have similar attributes.
 19. Thesystem of claim 11, the operations further comprising: receiving inputselecting a graphical representation; and providing textual informationassociated with the function corresponding to the graphicalrepresentation.
 20. A non-transitory computer storage medium encodedwith a computer program, the program comprising instructions that whenexecuted by one or more computers cause the one or more computers toperform operations comprising: presenting a user interface visualizationfor an application, wherein the application is configured to perform aplurality of functions, and wherein the application is configured topresent a graphical user interface including a plurality of userinterface elements to access the functions, and wherein presenting theuser interface visualization for the application comprises: selecting agroup of related functions; and presenting a respective graphicalrepresentation for each related function, wherein the graphicalrepresentations are presented in proximity to each other, and whereinthe graphical representations are presented differently than the userinterface elements, and wherein the user interface visualizationexecutes independently of the application on which the user interfacevisualization is built, and wherein the graphical user interface for theapplication is presented on a first display and the user interfacevisualization for the application is presented on a second display, thefirst display and the second display are on first and second physicallyseparate monitors of a computer system, respectively, wherein thegraphical user interface for the application includes space for viewinga document and the user interface visualization lacks space for viewinga document, and wherein the user interface visualization presented onthe second display executes and communicates in real-time with theapplication presented on the first display, and wherein the userinterface visualization visually presents, for a particular function, adifference between community usage data and expert usage data on thesecond display, and  wherein the community usage data indicates anoverall frequency for which the particular function, relative to otherfunctions, is used by a community of users of the application, and wherein the expert usage data indicates a frequency for which theparticular function is used by expert users.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer storage medium of claim 20, wherein presenting a respectivegraphical representation for each related function comprises presentingthe graphical representations in a grid view layout including rows andcolumns of graphical representations.
 22. The non-transitory computerstorage medium of claim 20, wherein presenting a respective graphicalrepresentation for each related function comprises: displaying a mapincluding a plurality of regions; presenting the graphicalrepresentations for the related functions over one of the regions of themap; and presenting additional graphical representations for a differentgroup of related functions of the application over a different region ofthe map.
 23. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 20,wherein presenting a respective graphical representation for eachrelated function comprises sorting the related functions by usage datafor each function and presenting the graphical representations in anorder based on the sorting.
 24. The non-transitory computer storagemedium of claim 20, wherein presenting a respective graphicalrepresentation for each related function comprises, for each relatedfunction, identifying associated data for the function and presentingthe respective graphical representation for the function based on theassociated data.
 25. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim24, wherein presenting the respective graphical representation for thefunction based on the associated data includes presenting the respectivegraphical representation with a size, level of granularity, level ofhighlighting, or level of opacity based on the associated data.
 26. Thenon-transitory computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein presenting arespective graphical representation for each related function comprises,for each related function, identifying associated data for the functionand presenting the respective graphical representation for the functionbased on the associated data, wherein the associated data is usage dataincluding one or more of community usage data, community popularitydata, expert usage data, and my usage data.
 27. The non-transitorycomputer storage medium of claim 20, wherein selecting the group ofrelated functions includes selecting functions that are related by oneor more of: a usage category, a functional category, corresponding userinterface elements' locations in the graphical user interface, and howdeeply nested the functions are in a hierarchy of the graphical userinterface, and wherein determining that the functions are relatedincludes analyzing a file prepared by a user who has categorized thefunctions or analyzing source code for the application and groupingfunctions that have similar attributes.
 28. The non-transitory computerstorage medium of claim 20, the operations further comprising: receivinginput selecting a graphical representation; and providing textualinformation associated with the function corresponding to the graphicalrepresentation.